Henley become HCPCL Division One Champions On A Day Where The Title Could Have Been Claimed by Three Teams
Final table
Final day news round-up
Going into the weekend, Finchampstead were at the top of the league, as they had been by quite some margin for most of the season. But some poor availability going into the pink ball fifty-over format meant that Henley, Aston Rowant and High Wycombe could catch up.
Henley needed to beat Finchampstead, but also needed High Wycombe to defeat Aston Rowant. Rowant, on the other hand, needed to beat Wycombe, and Henley to beat Finch, to be tied on points. The overall winner, perhaps, being decided by total games won or lost – and eventually Aston Rowant would be likely champions.
Aston Rowant were asked to bowl first after AJ Woodland, the new High Wycombe 1XI captain, had elected to bat first in a soggy affair.
It was a dream start for the Rowant XI, who had the result of Finch and Henley hanging over their heads on the cloudy day, as Hemp was removed for 0 by Hayden Rossouw.
Wycombe struggled to get going at any point in the game, with only AJ Woodland getting past 20. He has come into form too late into the season – last week scoring his first hundred of the year – and this week securing a solid 49 before being dismissed LBW – he had shown true determination from a relatively young captain.
But some tight bowling from Tristan Rossouw cleaned up the middle order – the highest scorer apart from AJ was Conner Haddow, who made 19 from 37 balls.
Wycombe were restricted to 168, a total which looked below par if you had asked at the start of the day – especially after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Yet, Wycombe had a similar start with the ball to Rowant – dismissing the openers cheaply in the first over of play. Once again, AJ Woodland was in the action as he removed the off-peg of Luke Hayes for just four runs.
Again, the batters struggled to get going, on a pitch that felt sticky and uncomfortable due to the rain. Some balls would grip, turn and bounce, while others would roll along the ground.
Oliver Ebsworth-Burland looked to be the saving grace for Rowant, as he patiently caressed the ball for singles within the infield, not ever really looking to take the attack to Wycombe. His 31 came from 48 balls, before Max Uttley bowled him.
Similarly, no other batters really got going – except for keeper, Callum Russell. Having faced 44 deliveries, Russell collected 23 runs and started to give his side some momentum going into the later stages of the game.
But Henry Chapman’s 3-22 from 9 overs put the pressure back on as batters got stuck at the crease and had to find a way to release the pressure. And it was Conner Haddow, who was bowling at the other end, who did just that with 3-30 from 8 overs.
With 35 runs still required, Aston Rowant were bowled out (and knowing Finch was 15-6 at one point) the pressure had ultimately got to them. Wycombe got to third place, just three points behind winners Henley, and disappointed at having been docked points earlier in the season.
So, then we venture over to Henley versus Finchampstead – essentially the Home Counties Premier Cricket League, Division One Final. Whilst Finch had been cruising the league for the majority of the season, it was neck and neck going into this weekend.
Henley was put into bat first in a low-scoring affair at The Brakespear Ground in Henley. It seemed to have been a good decision at first for Finchampstead, as they had Henley trapped at 85-5, dismissing the power hitters of Henley.
Johnny Connell, a player who has been performing well at NCCA level – recently securing a hundred in the NCCA Championship Final four-day game – was only able to manage 26 from 62 balls.
But similarly, the top scorer of the day, Ross Richardson struggled on a pitch that must have been incredibly difficult to score on. His 30 however, proved to be detrimental to Finch, alongside Connell’s 26 as they were able to climb to 149-9 from 48 overs.
Some late order, quick-grab-and-go scoring from Adam Searle (16 off 19) and even Lamsdale’s reluctance to be dismissed from the crease helped Henley to get to a respectable score.
It seems as if any score that a batsman was able to put on was deemed essential, in a match where 149 seemed well over a par score.
Finchampstead was left in disbelief as their top order was completely run through; three members of the top six being dismissed for nought.
At 13-5, Tom Nugent (3-24) and Jon Denning (2-26) must have been enjoying their day out, taking wickets and knowing that the trophy would be theirs.
But Jed Crerar and Parsons had other plans, determined to see a victory snatched from the hands of Henley. Crerar quickly struck 26 from 32 balls, arguably the most attacking batting from the day, rattling five deliveries to the boundary for four.
Parsons (18 from 43) was more delicate in his approach alongside Sharp (13 from 38) who both wanted to bat alongside Crerar and save the game. As we had mentioned before, any score from a batsman was essential on this wicket – especially having only to chase 150.
When they were dismissed, the favour swung back into Henley’s hands. Even James Woodford’s 25 from 62 balls – a knock that was full of strong foundational batting that was unrelenting in giving his wicket away – was unable to rise to the challenge.
The opening of Finchampstead’s batting ultimately cost them, relying far too much on the middle and lower order to chalk up 150 runs. It was a feat that was just too tall an order and Henley raised the trophy having won by 41 runs.
Congratulations to Henley Cricket Club for a well fought final and season. It was a thoroughly deserved victory.
Banbury continued their run of form in the short-format game, as they pushed themselves well out of relegation zone against Wokingham.
Winning the toss and electing to field may not have been the best call as Banbury climbed to the highest score of the week, 267-9. Waqas Hussain (78) and Lloyd Sabin (43) were top of the runs allowing Banbury to climb to 171-3.
That kind of start would always have been difficult to chase, especially when Short (37*) and Wright (18) were able to deal some late-order damage and increase the total to 267.
Batter Ben Curran was able to pick up a five-wicket-haul, his first of the season, with figures of 5-31 from his six overs.
But Wokingham’s season continued on its weary course as they were bowled out for 169 in the 45th over. In fairness, they were able to soak up alot of the overs – planning to have a batter in on a score at the end, so they can really accelerate in the final overs.
Unfortunately, no-one was really able to get going – Ben Curran (47) and Salman Khalid (44) were the only ones to get above 20. Without one of these batters going on and accelarating to a big score, it was always going to be tough.
Wokingham, having won only one game this season, will be relegated and find themselves in Division Two next year.
Datchet was probably hoping for some ‘wonder world’ where Great Brickhill would lose and gain no points – if that were to happen they would have escaped relegation, especially after defeating Oxford Downs at the weekend.
The second relegated team were put into bat and got the second top score in the division. Having climbed to 200-10 from 47 overs, both Rahim Akhtar (59) and Calvin Dickinson (50) passed the half-century mark.
But Oliver Armstrong (5-44) and Tom Ettridge (4-37) stayed strong to ensure the grand total wasn’t unreachable. Without them, Datchet could have gone on to get well over 300 and make the idea of a win unachievable.
Freddie Smith led the charge for Oxford Downs with the bat after collecting a 39 from 36 – one of the only players this week to bat at over a hundred strike rate. However, Sulaiman Akhtar’s bowling was too strong for the Bears team, with figures of 6-11 from just five overs. He managed to kill the game and stop it in its tracks – completely dismissing Oxford Downs for 121 in 22 overs.
Datchet, although winning, will be in Division Two next year as they find themselves in the relegation zone at the closing point of the league.
Wargrave and Great Brickhill were abandoned, each team receiving 7 points.
